Means for tying shoe-uppers.



w. E. ELLIS. MEANS FOR TYING SHOE UPPERS. APPLICATION PIL-ED SEPT. 21,1906.' RENEWED JULY 28, 1910.

990 242 Patented Apr. 25, 1911.

THE NaRRIs Firs/u co WASHINGTON, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WARREN E. ELLIS, 0F HAVERI-IILL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 ELLIS LACERCOMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

MEANS FOR TYING SHOE-UPPERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 25, 1911.

Application filed September 21, 1906, Serial No. 335,560. Renewed July28, 1910. Serial No. 574,354.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VARREN E. ELLIS, a citizen of the United States,andresident of Haverhill, in the county of Essex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMeans for Tying Shoe-Uppers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the securing of the eyeleted edges of theuppers of lace shoes during the processes of lasting, re-lasting and thelike, which result was formerly accomplished by means of pieces of twinepassed through one or more pairs of opposite eyelets and tied in suchmanner as to hold the eyeleted edges at the proper distance apart. Thismode of procedure is open to the objection, however, that the pieces oftwine stretch more or less under the strain of the lasting process,while the knots tied in the pieces of twine are likely to slip to someextent, thus causing variations in the distance between the eyeletededges of the various uppers and in the fit and appearance of the shoeswhen lasted. More recently this temporary securing of said eyeletededges has been accomplished by means of mechanical devices of oneconstruction or another, but in some instances these devices have beenopen to the objection that they do not conform perfectly to the shape ofthe last or permit the uppers to hug the last as closely as isdesirable, and it is also a disadvantage attendant upon the use of thesedevices that each manufacturer has to keep on hand a large number ofdifferent sizes and patterns of such devices, to correspond to thedifferent spacing of the eyelets and to different distances between theeyeleted edges.

My present invention is intended to provide for the securing of saideyeleted edges in such manner as to obviate the objections abovereferred to and at the same time to combine the advantages possessed bythe string-tying system and the detachable-fastener system, and to thisend I pass through each pair of opposite eyelets which it is desired tosecure a strip of flexible, inextensible and relatively inelasticmaterial, as many of these strips being employed as there are pairs ofeyelets to be connected, and I bend or otherwise shape the projectingend portions of each of these strips in such manner that they will notpass through the eyelets unless they are purposely unbent orstraightened out to a sufficient extent, said end portions being also soformed as to provide suitable shoulders or hooks for engaging theeyelets. These fastening strips are so applied that when the sides ofthe upper are drawn over a last or the like the eyeleted edges thereofwill be held at the proper distance apart by means of said strips andtheir eyelet-engaging means, and in case it is desired to have the edgesof the upper form a V-shaped opening, as is often the case, the lengthsof the connecting strips between their respective eyelet-engagingshoulders are varied accordingly. After these connecting strips haveserved their purpose they may be removed either by severing them betweentheir eyelet-engaging shoulders or by straightening out to a sufiicientextent one of the bent-up ends, whereupon the strips may be readilywithdrawn through the corresponding eyelets, and inasmuch as eachconnecting strip is independent of all the others, it is possible toremove some of said strips and leave one or more of them remaining inthe upper. This is an important feature of my invention, because it isoften desirable to keep one pair of eyelets secured together during theprocesses subsequent to lasting, and my invention accomplishes thisresult in the most effective manner, because all the strips which arenot retained in the upper are removed entirely therefrom and leave thesides of the latter perfectly free and flexible, whereas in the use ofother forms of metallic fastenings which are capable of connecting morethan one pair of eyelets it is necessary for the entire fastener to beapplied to the upper in case it is employed for the purpose ofconnecting even a single pair of eyelets.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 of the upper and having itsprojecting ends bent or curled over to form loops or heads 5, whichloops or heads are of such size as to be incapable of passing throughthe eyelets, and also form shoulders adapted to engage the edges of theeyelets when the latter are drawn against them by the strain of thelasting or other process. This strain also causes the flexible strips 4to conform to the contour of the last, whatever it may be. Theseshoulders are formed at the proper distance apart to give the desiredspacing to the eyeleted edges of the upper, and the extreme ends of eachstrip 4, being located in contact with or closely adjacent to theintermediate portions of the strip, are covered thereby and preventedfrom coming in contact with and scratching or otherwise defacing theupper. In the example represented in the drawings, four of thesefastening strips are employed, which strips vary progressively in lengthbetween their looped ends so as to provide a V-shaped opening betweenthe edges of the upper 2, but any desired number of these connectingstrips may be employed for a given upper, and the length of the stripsbetween their eyelet-engaging shoulders may be otherwise varied, or madeuniform if preferred. When it is desired to remove the connecting strips4 they may be severed between the loops 5, or a pin or small rod may beinserted into the loop at one end of the strip .and employed to pry thesame open and straighten out the strip sufliciently to permit itswithdrawal through the eyelets, and any one or more of these strips maybe withdrawn without removing the remaining strip or strips, so as toleave the latter in the upper during subsequent processes, as aboveexplained.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a fastener consisting of a strip 4 having loops 5formed at its ends as above described, but in this instance one of theend portions of the fastener is bent over toward the intermediateportion thereof to form an eyelet-engaging hook or bend 6 by which thecorresponding eyelet is normally held in the desired position during theprocess of lasting. After such process has been completed the adjacentend portion of the fastener may be bent outward, or away from theintermediate portion thereof, whereupon the sides 2 of the upper may beseparated to an increased distance determined by the length of thestrip, thus permitting the removal of the last without completelydetaching the fastener from the upper, and the subsequent insertion of arelasting last or the like. After such insertion the sides of theuppermay be drawn back into their normal position of separation bygrasping either end of the fastener with a suitable tool, drawing itthrough the corresponding eyelet and bending it down into substan-'tially the same position as is shown in Fig.

The results obtained by the use of the fastener shown in Fig. 3 may alsobe secured by the modified form of fastener shown in Fig. 4,-whichconsists of a strip 4 having looped ends 5 and formed at a suitabledistance from one of said ends to provide ,anoeyeletengaging bend orshoulder 7 which extends upward from the intermediate portion of thefastener and makes substantially a right angle therewith. In this casethe eyelet which normally engages and is retained in position by theshoulder 7 may be released therefrom, after the lasting process has beencompleted and while the upper is still under tension, by slipping saideyelet upward and off said shoulder 7 and thence onto the adjacent endportion of the fastener, where it will be retained by the correspondingloop 5". The sides of the upper may then be separated sufliciently topermit the with drawal of the last and the subsequent insertion of arelasting last, and then drawn together in the same manner as hasalready been described in connection with the fastener shown in Fig. 8.

Inasmuch as the normal location of the eyelets, when secured by any ofthe fasteners above described, is closely adjacent to the intermediateor connecting portions by which the strain is resisted, said fastenersmay readily be made of material which is stiff enough to resist thestraightening out of the eyelet-engaging portions under the strain ofthe lasting or other process, but is flexible enough to be bent asdescribed by hand manipulation with a suitable tool.

It will be seen that my invention provides for securing the eyeletededges of shoe uppers at any desired distance apart and in a very simpleand inexpensive manner, that the connecting strips are capable ofpassing through the eyelets to a suflicient extent to permit the upperto be folded flat, and that said strips cannot be stretched or becomedisplaced, when in use, so that my invention overcomes the disadvantagesattendant upon the use of twine for connecting said eyeleted edges,while it preserves the advantages gained by securing each pair ofeyelets independently of all others.

It will be obvious that instead of forming both of the loops 5 or otherterminal portions on a strip 4; after the latter has been passed throughthe eyelets one of said terminal portions may be formed previously tothe insertion of the strip, if preferred, with substantially the sameresult. 7

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a shoe upper having eyeleted edges of a strip offlexible material passed through a pair of opposite eyelets and havingits end portions located on the outer side of the upper and formed toprovide enlarged heads which are of such transverse dimensions as to beincapable of passing through the eyelets, said strip being movablefreely through the eyelets between said heads.

2. The combination with a shoe upper having eyeleted edges of a strip offlexible material passed through a pair of opposite eyelets and havingits ends bent over into substantial contact with its intermediateportion to form loops of such transverse dimensions as to be incapableof passing through the eyelets, said loops being located on the outerside of the upper and providing eyelet-engaging shoulders.

3. The combination with a shoe upper having eyeleted edges of a strip offlexible material passed through a pair of opposite eyelets and havingits end portions located on the outer side of the upper and formed toprovide enlarged heads of such transverse dimensions as to prevent thewithdrawal of the same through the eyelets, said strip bein bent betweenits end portions to provide an eyelet-engaging portion located at asuflicient distance from one end of the fastening device to permit therelaxing of the upper when disengaged from said eyelet-engaging portion.

4. The combination with a shoe upper having eyeleted edges of aplurality oi independent strips of flexible material each passingthrough a pair of opposite eyelets and having its end portions locatedon the outer side of the upper and formed to provide enlarged heads ofsuch transverse dimensions as to be incapable of passing through theeyelets, said strips being severally movable freely through thecorresponding eyelets between said heads.

5. The combination with a shoe upper having eyeleted edges of a flatstrip of flexible material passing through a pair of opposite eyeletsand having its end portions located on the outer side of the upper andbent into loops of greater diameter than said eyelets, said strip beingmovable freely through the eyelets between said loops.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this eighteenthday of September, 1906.

WARREN E. ELLIS. Witnesses:

E. D. CHADWIOK, JOSEPH T. BRENNAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

